This is a tremendously exciting announcement because it means that in the eyes of the international medical community sarcopenia is now recognized as a distinctly reportable condition. The code, M62.84, will be available for use by the medical community effective October 1, 2016.

Cynthia Bens, the Alliance's vice president of public policy and executive director of AIM, notes, “We are gratified that the CDC has recognized sarcopenia as an independently reportable condition through the establishment of this code. Sarcopenia has long been an under-recognized, chronic health care challenge affecting older adults. The AIM Coalition has worked diligently to secure recognition of sarcopenia by the CDC, and we look forward to seeing how it helps our efforts to raise awareness and reduce treatment barriers in the medical, public policy, and research communities.”

To learn more about what this means for sarcopenia research and treatment, head over to the AIM website.